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Fiorentino A, Rajput FZ, Di Serio A, Baldi V, Guarino F, Baldantoni D, Ronga D, Mazzei P, Motta O, Falanga M, Cicatelli A, Castiglione S. Role of Plants and Urban Soils in Carbon Stock: Status, Modulators, and Sustainable Management Practices. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2025; 14:546. [PMID: 40006805 PMCID: PMC11858908 DOI: 10.3390/plants14040546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2024] [Revised: 01/17/2025] [Accepted: 02/05/2025] [Indexed: 02/27/2025]
Abstract
Urban soils are vital components of urban ecosystems, significantly influenced by anthropogenic activities and environmental factors. Despite misconceptions about their quality, urban soils play a pivotal role in carbon (C) cycling and storage, impacting global emissions and sequestration. However, challenges such as soil contamination, land use changes, and urban expansion pose significant threats to soil quality and C storage capacity. Over the last two decades, there has been an increasing interest in the C storage potential of soils as part of climate change mitigation strategies. In this review, a bibliometric analysis covering the last twenty years (2004-2024) was performed to offer insights into global research trends, mainly in urban soils of the Mediterranean region. This paper also identifies research gaps and proposes essential solutions for mitigating the negative impacts of urbanization on soil biodiversity and functions. Key modulators, including plants, microbes, and soil features, are highlighted for their role in C dynamics, emphasizing the importance of effective soil and vegetation management to enhance C sequestration and ecosystem services. Strategies such as reintroducing nature into urban areas and applying organic amendments are promising in improving soil quality and microbial diversity. Further research and awareness are essential to maximize the effectiveness of these strategies, ensuring sustainable urban soil management and climate resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonino Fiorentino
- Department of Chemistry, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy;
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133 Palermo, Italy; (F.Z.R.); (A.D.S.); (V.B.); (F.G.); (D.B.); (D.R.); (P.M.); (O.M.); (M.F.); (S.C.)
| | - Farah Zahoor Rajput
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133 Palermo, Italy; (F.Z.R.); (A.D.S.); (V.B.); (F.G.); (D.B.); (D.R.); (P.M.); (O.M.); (M.F.); (S.C.)
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
| | - Annamaria Di Serio
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133 Palermo, Italy; (F.Z.R.); (A.D.S.); (V.B.); (F.G.); (D.B.); (D.R.); (P.M.); (O.M.); (M.F.); (S.C.)
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Baldi
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133 Palermo, Italy; (F.Z.R.); (A.D.S.); (V.B.); (F.G.); (D.B.); (D.R.); (P.M.); (O.M.); (M.F.); (S.C.)
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
| | - Francesco Guarino
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133 Palermo, Italy; (F.Z.R.); (A.D.S.); (V.B.); (F.G.); (D.B.); (D.R.); (P.M.); (O.M.); (M.F.); (S.C.)
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
| | - Daniela Baldantoni
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133 Palermo, Italy; (F.Z.R.); (A.D.S.); (V.B.); (F.G.); (D.B.); (D.R.); (P.M.); (O.M.); (M.F.); (S.C.)
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
| | - Domenico Ronga
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133 Palermo, Italy; (F.Z.R.); (A.D.S.); (V.B.); (F.G.); (D.B.); (D.R.); (P.M.); (O.M.); (M.F.); (S.C.)
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
| | - Pierluigi Mazzei
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133 Palermo, Italy; (F.Z.R.); (A.D.S.); (V.B.); (F.G.); (D.B.); (D.R.); (P.M.); (O.M.); (M.F.); (S.C.)
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
| | - Oriana Motta
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133 Palermo, Italy; (F.Z.R.); (A.D.S.); (V.B.); (F.G.); (D.B.); (D.R.); (P.M.); (O.M.); (M.F.); (S.C.)
- Department of Medicine Surgery and Dentistry, “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, University of Salerno, 84081 Baronissi, Italy
| | - Mariarosaria Falanga
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133 Palermo, Italy; (F.Z.R.); (A.D.S.); (V.B.); (F.G.); (D.B.); (D.R.); (P.M.); (O.M.); (M.F.); (S.C.)
- Department of Information and Electric Engineering and Applied Mathematics, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
| | - Angela Cicatelli
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133 Palermo, Italy; (F.Z.R.); (A.D.S.); (V.B.); (F.G.); (D.B.); (D.R.); (P.M.); (O.M.); (M.F.); (S.C.)
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
| | - Stefano Castiglione
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133 Palermo, Italy; (F.Z.R.); (A.D.S.); (V.B.); (F.G.); (D.B.); (D.R.); (P.M.); (O.M.); (M.F.); (S.C.)
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
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Rosso F, Pioppi B, Pisello AL. Tactical urban pocket parks (TUPPs) for subjective and objective multi-domain comfort enhancement. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 349:119447. [PMID: 37956514 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Cities face growing anthropogenic overheating phenomena, such as Urban Heat Island Effect and more intense and frequent heatwaves, impacting livability and wellbeing of local citizens and tourists. To mitigate such effects, passive mitigation strategies have been widely studied in the past decades, to be integrated within the built environment. The insertion of green areas, i.e. parks, in urban areas is among the most common passive strategies, however it presents numerous challenges, as traditional parks are difficult to insert in an existing packed urban texture. Hence, in this study, we examine the significance of strategic small urban parks related to various construction types. These parks can be seamlessly integrated through tactical urbanism interventions to enhance both the objective and subjective perception of overall comfort. By coupling human-centric microclimate monitoring campaigns in the small parks and surrounding blocks (objective analysis) with questionnaire surveys to parks' users (subjective multidomain analysis) we aim at assessing their effectiveness. Results show that Tactical Urban Pocket Parks (TUPP) can slightly improve objective whole comfort and significantly enhance the improvement of subjective comfort (from neutral/bad to good/very good).
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Rosso
- Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering - Sapienza University of Roma. Via Eudossiana 18 - 00184, Roma Italy
| | - Benedetta Pioppi
- CIRIAF - Interuniversity Research Center, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 67, 06125, Perugia Italy; Elettrica Valeri s.r.l. EVALTech R&D Department. Via Semigni, sn Marcellano, 06035 Gualdo Cattaneo, Perugia, Italy
| | - Anna Laura Pisello
- CIRIAF - Interuniversity Research Center, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 67, 06125, Perugia Italy; Department of Engineering - University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 97, 06125, Perugia Italy.
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